Environmental assessment on culvert planned for 2010
Jun 16, 2009 - 12:37 PM
By Jeff Hayward
UXBRIDGE -- A study will be done to determine if the brook that runs beneath Brock Street will be opened up.
The wheels are in motion to complete an environmental assessment of the approximately 200-metre pipe that carries the Uxbridge Brook from Centennial Park northward. The terms of reference for the study have been completed and the assessment itself will be undertaken in 2010, according to a report from Uxbridge's public works department.
Uxbridge is negotiating a cost-sharing agreement with the Region regarding the assessment, but, so far, there is no price tag on the study. Ben Kester, director of public works, said the item will be introduced in the 2010 budget. Since the study will take about a year, any work to remove the culvert will not happen next year, said Mr. Kester.
The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority previously identified the culvert as a flood risk, noting the pipe would not be able to withstand a regional storm. According to the terms of reference of the Uxbridge Downtown Flood Reduction Class Environmental Assessment Study, the goal is to "alleviate, if not eliminate, the potential risks associated with flooding in part of the downtown area of the town."
The Region completed an inspection of the culvert in March. Paul Foster, a Durham works project manager, said Region staff will compile a regional roads servicing study later this year relating to Durham's 2010 budget.
"We plan to speak to the issues related to the Brock Street structure within this report," he said.
A contracted dive team discovered debris within the pipe, such as "one couch, carpets, chairs, bicycles, branches and cinder blocks", noted Mr. Foster.
"(Uxbridge) will be undertaking a debris clean-out operation in order to alleviate any potential future damming of water," he said.
The Region owns the 22-metre portion of the culvert directly below Brock Street, he said, adding Uxbridge oversees most of the structure.
Opening the brook is one of the highlights of a vision statement released earlier this year by Uxbridge's Downtown Revitalization Steering Committee.
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